From CBS News: LOS ANGELES - A porn actress Tuesday settled her wrongful
termination lawsuit against an adult film production company, which
she accused of firing her for complaining about unsanitary work conditions.

Kira Kener, 32, alleged she was infected with a venereal disease by
a sex toy she used during a video shoot, according to her lawsuit filed
in January 2006 that asked for millions of dollars from Vivid Entertainment
Group of Los Angeles. Vivid Entertainment identifies itself on the company's
Web site as the world's leading adult film company.

Attorneys for Kener and Vivid Entertainment told Los Angeles Superior
Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis the settlement would be put in writing
in 30 days. The terms were not disclosed.

Kener said outside the courtroom that she is pleased to have the case
behind her. "I'm really looking forward to getting my new Web site up
and running," Kener said.

According to the lawsuit, Kener tested positive for a venereal disease
after shooting a pornographic video in February 2004. The director ordered
her to work first with a sex toy, then with an actor, the lawsuit stated.
Kener had concerns about working with the actor, but was told to do
so by the director anyway, the lawsuit stated. Kener came to work crying
the next day and refused to work with anyone else until she was tested
for venereal diseases, according to the lawsuit. However, another director
stepped in and yelled, "There's no time or money in the budget for testing.
I'll just call someone else to come in and work with you. I'll let that
person know that you may have come in contact with something, but it's
up to them if they want to work with you," according to the suit.

Kener later tested positive for the disease, the lawsuit stated. "Since
then, Kener is informed and believes that marital aids are a breeding
ground for diseases," the lawsuit stated.

Kener was fired by Vivid Entertainment on Feb. 26, 2004, the same day
she told management she was concerned about having to work with previously
used marital aids, the lawsuits stated. The lawsuit also alleged Vivid
Entertainment had not paid all the money it owed her for her video shoots
and had used her "Kira Kener" trademark for financial advantage without
her permission.

Vivid Entertainment lawyers maintained in their court papers that Kener
was an independent contractor and not an employee, and that their agreement
with her allowed them to use her name for economic advantage.

Kener, whose former name was Stephanie Knain, was working in strip
clubs throughout the United States when she signed an exclusive agreement
to perform in adult videos for Vivid Entertainment in 1998, according
to her declaration that is part of her lawsuit.

Kira Kener is now her legal name and she lives in North Carolina, steps
she said she took to protect her family from exposure to the adult entertainment
industry.

Born around 1974, Vivid girl Kira comes a Vietnamese mother and Norwegian
father. She measures 32DD-24-38. She stands 5'4" and weights 113lbs.

She has a daughter born circa 1993.

A stripper out of North Carolina, Kener entered porn to boost her income
as a "feature dancer."

Kira told adultstarsmagazine.com: "I knew they were a big company
and I've seen their girls featuring. And I was wondering what it would
be like to be them. But actually right before I left people were telling
me horror stories about this business and how they abuse the girls. How
the girls have no control and cater to the guys. Then I came out here
and met with Steve Hirsch and Marcy Hirsch. They reassured me that it
was not anywhere close to what I heard. They pulled out a contract and
I signed. Prior to that I had only seen like two clips of Porn. I didn't
know really a lot about the business so I said OK. With a lot of things
I make a lot of last minute decisions."

Kira claims that her first scenes were for Vivid, in the productions
"Nurses" and "Windows".

"Prior to movies I've been used to very small guys and a pretty
boring sex life. When I got into that scene he got me off so many times
and I was never a "screamer" until I got into movies. Oh my gosh, I didn't
know that came out of me. I mean everybody's eyes nearly popped out of
their heads it did (laughs). I was so exhausted after that scene. But
it was great and it felt good and I never had anything like that in my
life. It was wonderful." (ASM)

ScorpionKing writes in February 2006:

I can't speak for the other Vivid girls (it took awhile before she
did girl/girl if I remember), but she was OK with the fans. I met her
a store signing at Virgin in NYC some years back and she was quite friendly.
She took Polaroids with fans who bought one of her videos. However,
I saw her at the East Coast Video Show VSDA and she was a little distant.
Polite, but not as friendly as at the store. After the show she hung
out with Bobby Vitale at Caesar's Palace with the rest of the porn crowd.
She never seemed totally into the porn thing, even in her performances.
Robby D seemed to coax a pretty good performance out of her in Sexual
Misbehavior. Let me shut up before I sound even more like one of those
drooling fanboys at ADT.

The Internet can be a great tool for finding out information
and for learning about things. Unfortunately, it can also be a breeding
ground for gossip and lies, and sometimes it's tough to separate fact
from fiction, truth from rumor, or proof from hearsay.

I recently learned that there are some stories about
me on the Internet that are completely untrue. On www.lukeisback.com,
there are a couple of stories in particular that are incorrect. One
of them, in fact, is contradicted by other statements on the same
website, if you know where to look.

The website, named for an Australian guy named Luke
F-rd who has put himself out there as a journalist and supposed expert
on the porn industry, contains the following statement in a "biography"
of me:

The Least Popular Vivid Girl Of The Past Decade

Kira Kener. The other girls at Vivid hated her. The fans disliked
her because she disliked them. Kira thought she was too important
to stop to pose for photos by fans. Even Vivid's TV show on Playboy
reveals how disliked Kira was (though she had some popularity on the
escorting circuit for those willing to pay).

Let's start with the title of this blurb. "Least Popular
Vivid Girl of the Past Decade." Popular with whom? Certainly not the
fans - if I was so unpopular, why did I make so many movies with Vivid,
and why does Vivid continue to prominently feature me on the covers
of so many compilation videos it releases? If I was so unpopular with
the fans, why was it that, as of July 2006, my Vivid website received
more traffic than any other Vivid girl except for Briana Banks? Currently,
my page is ranked ahead of 17 of their other website addresses. Check
out www.betterwhois.com
for details.

"The other Vivid girls hated her." Well, anybody who
saw the Vivid reality TV show knows that this isn't entirely accurate.
Savannah Samson was defending me, so at least one Vivid
girl didn't "hate" me, and most of them didn't even really know
me.

"The fans disliked her because she disliked them." This
is ridiculous. If the fans disliked me, then why have people always
come and seen me when I feature across the country? Why do I constantly
get e-mails and messages from people asking when I'm coming to their
town, or when I'm coming back to their town? As for posing for pictures
with fans, I have always posed for pictures when I'm on tour.

As for the TV show on Playboy, as I said, Savannah defended
me on an episode. Also, does anybody really think that any reality show
depicts everything that goes on? Or do you think that those shows
are edited down to nice little segments that highlight the drama, so
people will keep coming back to see more episodes?

Then we come to the statement that really burns me up - "though
she had some popularity on the escort circuit for those willing to
pay." I have never done escort work. Never have, and never
will. I dare anyone to come forward with proof that I have. But what's
even funnier is that, on that same website, the question of
whether I have escorted is brought up and completely disproven!

Does Vivid Girl Kira Kener Escort?

According to an informed poster BigDoggie.net, Kira Kener escorts
through AdultStarFantasy.com.

Are there any Vivid Girls that do not escort?

ASF says they've received eight calls about this in the past hour.
And ASF says Kira does not escort.

Bigdoggie.net is a website devoted to escort services.
Anyone can become a member and post just about anything they want
about whomever they want, and there's no way to verify the information.

Really, this sort of stuff is scandalous. I mean,
this is the same site that published the following about Steve and
Marci Hirsch at Vivid:

"Neither Steve or Marci have been shy about using
their power and money to secure sexual favors from porn stars.

Steve's numerous escapades with porn girls such as Ginger Lynn who
he impregnated have been the grist for much industry gossip for years.
Hirsch pays Lynn approximately $20,000 child support a month.

Marci Hirsch has also been linked to sexual relations with porn stars
(Jon Dough, Mr. Marcus, Steven St. Croix, Bobby Vitalie, and Marc
Wallice, with whom she lived). Marci, who underwent extensive plastic
surgery in May of 1999, is more popular than Steve with pornographers.
She has two kids.

Sources have told me that Mr Marcus earned a directing deal from Vivid
Raw in part through having sex with Marci."

"It's funny how you'll post anything but you won't
check the facts. Some things you check the facts on...but that was blatantly
rude and it's pretty slanderous. Considering how somebody tried to use
that against me... You don't even realize the damage you've caused."

"Did you even bother to watch the [Vivid reality]
show?"

Luke: "No."

Kira: "I have a copy of it. Savannah Samson did come
to my rescue. To say all the Vivid girls hated me, you're wrong. Cheyenne
Silver called me not long ago..."

Luke: "Some of the girls disliked you?"

Kira: "Of course. Why do you think Brianna Banks
hated me?"

Luke: "I don't know."

Kira: "Because she dated Bobby Vitale right after
me. Bobby doesn't say the nicest things about people when he's done dating
'em, especially when he's been kicked out of their house. It even said
on the reality show that Brianna dated Kira's ex, when she was sitting
there making horrible statements..."

Vivid fired Kira Kener in February 2004.

Kira: "I did ask out of my contract because they
were going in a direction I didn't want to go in."

Luke: "Have you made any adult movies since then?"

Kira: "I'm not going to answer that one yet."

"I really hated that comment about hating the fans.
I've got so many pictures with my fans. The people who read what you wrote
said it was such BS. I've always placed bets with my fans -- if I don't
remember something about you, I'll give you something free. That's how
I became famous with my fans. That's why my fans loved me and I had the
following I did."

Luke: "What did you love and hate about your time
in the Adult industry?"

Kira: "I liked doing the movies. I liked the sex.
That was my sex life. Things I hated, you're supposed to become a yes
person. I don't like being forced into doing things I don't want to do.
The biggest thing I hated was people talking about me. They dubbed me
'the bitch of porn.' The reasons that they did that -- I'm ok with because
for me to refuse to work without my test, I'm ok with that.

"There have been several occasions... When you're
used to working with certain production managers and then they switch
out and you work with a new one, and you're used to working with the old
one, the new one doesn't know what the old one does. For instance, the
old one picked up your test. The newer production manager didn't know
that and yes, I shut the set down because I wasn't going to work without
my test.

"There were times when I was told, 'I saw your test.'
Someone is going to be there at 11 p.m. and they saw my test? Come on.
I'm not going to take someone's verbal answer unless it came from AIM."

Luke: "Do you think the industry was doing everything
it could to keep people healthy?"

Kira: "No."

Luke: "How often were you pushed to do things you
didn't want to do?"

Kira: "In all fairness, producers and directors are supposed to
get all they can out of you, but the only thing that comes to mind that
just pisses me off was trying to get me to work without my test. At
one time I was asked, 'Do you really think you have something?' I said,
'What? Because I have a Vivid girl label, I'm immune to everything?'"

Rich emails me Dec. 6, 2006: "Hey Luke: Do you know anything about
a lawsuit involving former Vivid Contract Girl Kira Kener vs Vivid Video?
Time to do some investigating, maybe the LA County Court website has
some info?"

you read those legal docs in the kira v vivid case? 39K/yr for a
Vivid contract? thats insane vivid admits to paying for her airfare
and accomodations to shoot porn...sounds like a violation of the mann
act to me.

I asked Kira Kener for comment on her lawsuit and she repeatedly replied,
"No comment."

So we talked about her life and career instead. I found out she likes
older men with beer bellies and salt and pepper hair.

I hope you're well. We couldn't make it to expo, as Felicia is pregnant
and the strip club I manage in Dayton, Ohio keeps me busy. We found
out yesterday, via an ultrasound, that we can expect a baby boy come
June. I hope you're well. I read your site daily, of course, right
after I read Mike South's. Keep Searching for the Light, bro.

31. In or around February 2004, Kener was scheduled to perform in
two adult videos for which Vivid Video, Inc... was to pay Kener a
flat fee of $11,000 for both videos.

32. On the Los Angeles County set of the first of those Vivid videos,
director Philip Tobias, professionally known as Paul Thomas, required
Kener to use a marital aid (specifically, a plastic or latex dildo).

33. Meanwhile, Kener had been subjected that day to unsanitary, unlawful
and unreasonable working conditions. Kener had already shot one sex
scene earlier that day and desired to take a shower before performing
her second sex scene of the day. Director Thomas refused to let Kener
take a shower. Kener objected and Thomas only relented when Kener
refused to do the scene without showering. Thomas then left the set
for the night putting a man named Shilar in charge.

34. Kener had concerns about the actor she was about to work with.
Shilar admitted that "it" (the area around the other performer's
penis) looked "pretty gnarly" but that Kener was required
to perform the scene in any event. For that performance, Kener worked
first with a marital aid from the Vivid box and then with the actor.

35. The next day Kener came to work crying. She told Shilar that
she refused to work with anyone else until she got tested for any
venereal diseases. Paul Thomas stepped in and yelled "there's
no time or money in the budget for testing. I'll just call someone
else to come in and work with you. I'll let that person know that
you may have come in contact with something but it's up to them if
they want to work with you." Kener told Thomas that she couldn't
be able to live with herself if she caught a disease and gave it to
someone else.

36. Kener tested positive for a venereal disease. Since then, Kener
is informed and believes that marital aids are a breeding ground for
diseases.

37. Kener was told that she was to resume shooting on a Thursday
after taking her medication to treat the venereal disease. That day,
Kener went into Vivid's offices to obtain copies of the Website Agreement.
When she was in the accounting department, a new female employee handed
Kener her website folder. Another employee asked the new employee
what Kener was looking at, was told, and the other male employee then
left the office. Moments later, Marcia Hirsch, acting as an agent
of Vivid Video...arrived and snatched the folder away from Kener.

38. On or about February 26, 2004, Kener also voiced her concerns
about the shoot in that previously used marital aids were a breeding
ground for certain venereal diseases. Marcia Hirsch, acting as an
agent of Vivid Video...denied that Vivid allowed the use of used marital
aids. Instead, Hirsch stated that Doc Johnson provided Vivid with
monthly boxes of marital aids and that the marital aids were often
provided in an unpackaged form because the packaging took up so much
space.

[Kira tested positive for a venereal disease.]

39. Later that day, Steve Hirsch...informed Kener that her services
were terminated.

Kener says that Vivid began heading in a different direction in 2003.
"They were trying to become like Jenna -- a household name. They
wanted to be everywhere. Back in the day, they didn't advertise like
they do now. There's the reality show, the book, putting girls in magazines.

"I only wanted to be at that Shannon Tweed level. She has her
own section at Blockbuster. She's well known but not too well known
so that she has to give up all her privacy, until her reality series
with Gene Simmons.

"At the time of the Vivid reality series, I had a peeping tom.
They wanted me to allow the reality people to film me at my house. There
are some things I want private."

"I am intrigued by fans. No matter what your fetish, I'm not going
to judge you. I want to see the world through your eyes."

Luke: "How has being a stripper and a sex star affected your relationships
with other people?"

Kira: "That's hard. It's hard for me to take people seriously.
When guys approach me and say they want to go out with me... As Ginger
Lynn said, 'You don't know whether it is you they want or your alter
ego, the person they see on screen.'

"I am more cautious and picky.

"Bobby Vitale told me a long time ago that the industry will change
everybody around you. I didn't think it was true but people do act different.
My friends have become more possessive and protective of me."

"It's hard to find a guy who's going to look past the porn star
image. There are a lot of people who can't deal with that."

Kira was with Brad Armstrong, on and off, for about a year.

"I want someone I can learn from. Learning about business is a
turn-on. Someone who can go on the basketball court with me, an even
bigger turn-on."

Luke: "What do you do in your spare time?"

Kira: "Design clothes. Play basketball. I get involved in projects
with other people. They bring me in to help them with projects they
are presenting. I'm a lot smarter than people give me credit for --
coming up with advertising campaigns, with clothing designs, ideas for
magazines..."

"I'm not the kind of person who wants to go clubbing all the time
and do drugs. I never wanted to become that alter-ego 24/7."

"There's been a tremendous amount of talk about me that's just
not true. It's been hard to deal with. I walked away being OK with being
labeled the bitch of porn."

"Did you ever see that Al Pacino - Robert DeNiro movie Heat?
That's what runs through my head when someone approaches me about escorting."

"In my personal life, I tend to find the guys with the small weewee.
The guys on set tend to have bigger ones and to last longer. They know
what they're doing.

"I go through long periods without having a sex. A year or so..."

"There was only one major company I would've loved to have gotten
into movies with -- [Digital Sin]. Do they still make those My Playthings?
That was one I wanted to do more than anything. Digital Playground was
someone I wanted to work with. With Vivid, I was supplying my own wardrobe.
Wicked takes pride in their make-up and wardrobe. With Vivid, you had
to request a make-up artist. When Vivid supplied my wardrobe, it was
ten times too big for me. It was awful. Some of Vivid's directors just
wanted to get the movie shot. Others cared about making something decent.
I look at the quality of Digital Playground and I was just blown away
with how beautiful it was. And look at the way they market their girls..."

"Devon and Alex Taylor came in at the same time and they got more
PR than me and Veronica."

"I signed my contract with Vivid in October of 1998 but didn't
start filming until October 1999."

Luke: "You know that Digital Playgroun and Digital Sin would kill
to shoot you today."

Kira: "I highly doubt that. There's a reputation out there that
I'm a troublemaker."

"I remember one set I had extremely bad allergies. If you saw
the behind the scenes, you could hear me gagging. I said, 'You just
don't realize that I am allergic to this tree that you want me to do
a blowjob in front of.'"

"One time I came down with the flu. I couldn't hold water down.
That's being difficult in their eyes."

"There was one time when I was overworked and scared of crowds.
I told Steven Hirsch that I needed one week to rest. I hadn't been sleeping.
I had been shooting movies and featuring...and he said, 'CES is coming
up. You have to make it through it.'

"I said, 'I need someone to stand beside me.' A lot of the fans
feel that they have the right to pick you up. 'Here, let me have you
pose in the flying V.' 'Here, let me do this to you.' 'Here, let me
grab you and do this.'

"I wasn't OK with that at the time. When you're on a photo shoot,
you have people pulling on you all the time and you get overworked."

"I've always looked up to people who can look in the mirror and
say, 'God, I'm hot.' I've never been able to look in the mirror and
say that. I've always looked at other people and thought, 'Why can't
I look like that?' I've always thought Chasey Lain is one of the most
beautiful women who ever did porn. I've always wanted to look like her.
G.K. Jordan aka Katie Price. The UK version of Pamela Anderson. She's
my version of beautiful."

Luke: Do you encounter men who try to manipulate your insecurities?

Kira: "The last person I dated did that. He was outside the industry.
He was awful but I cut him out quick. He did that whole, 'Just because
you're a porn star, you think you belong on a pedastal?'

Kira: "He was very professional. I cried right after because it
was my first shoot and I didn't want to be photographed in that way.
I just felt stupid. I was standing there with my ass cheeks spread wide
open and my head in the couch and everybody's eating peanuts and talking
about the game waiting for the Polaroid to develop. I felt like the
biggest bimbo. But I understand it now."

Luke: "When did you get the breast job?"

Kira: "Nineteen ninety seven. I had to have several because I
got scar tissue. I was a 32DD before the breast job and I'm still a
32DD. I wanted to fill them out more. The only thing I regret is having
the scar tissue."

Luke: "How did your parents react to your becoming a stripper
and a porn star?"

Kira: "They didn't find out until 2003. My parents have always
been supportive no matter what so long as I'm not hurting anybody or
breaking the law."

Luke: "How would your closest friends describe you?"

Kira: "They look up to me because I stand up for the things I
believe in. I don't take sides. They say I have deplorable taste in
men. That's true. I should stop taking on projects. I always feel that
I can fix people. I like helping people. I've always been involved in
charities."

"I used to say that I'd never turn 30. I'd kill myself off. But
I met a girl who said that once she turned 30, she loved everything
about herself. I love getting older. You're comfortable with yourself.
You've accepted yourself. You have a different outlook on life."

"When I go to Vegas, I do love the slot machines, though I do
limit myself."

"I put a lot of money behind things I strongly believe in."

I suspect she refers to her lawsuit against Vivid.

Luke: "How many times have you heard, 'You're too beautiful for
porn'?"

Kira: "How many girls hear that? Come on now. I loved my job.
I wanted to do better quality movies."

Luke: "Why don't you do real movies?"

Kira: "I got offered some movies but I didn't feel like my acting
was good enough. I wasn't ready. I didn't want my mainstream debut to
be a flop. I didn't grasp acting until I did the movie 20
Candles."

Luke: "Why not take acting classes?"

Kira: "I don't live in L.A. Paul Thomas helped me with that when
I was on set.

"I had a run-in with one agent. That was every bit the stereotypical
agent. He sent me out on a couple of readings. Then, afterwards, I had
dinner with him. He's like, 'So I sent you on this audition, why don't
you give me a lap dance?' Excuse me. 'OK, we'll just be friends. Why
don't you just find a girl where I can lick coke off her nipples?' I
said, 'I'm going to call security in about two seconds.' He said, 'Why
don't I show you what you're missing?' I said, 'You are out of your
mind.'

"This was at a hotel in front of other people.

"I ran into him at another club partying... He was like, 'Are
you ready for more auditions?' I said, 'Yes.'"

Luke: "When you add up everything you've gained in the adult industry
and subtract everything you lost, do you come out ahead?"

I have not read the contracts in detail. I looked at the first one
very briefly. Here is what I found interesting.

1. The agreement looks like a standard form for Vivid.

2. Only $39K/year?

3. Section 8A--the performer has the right to only "simulate" a sex
act? There appears to be no limit on performer's right to only simulate
a sex act. I suppose if the performer exercises this right too much
the contract would be terminated (section 11).

4. 8E--performer accepts all health consequences (VD, HIV, etc.).

5. Some of the grants of rights are pretty interesting--Vivid has
the right to use the performer's legal name. Why should Vivid have
the right to use performer's legal name (as opposed to stage name).
(See section 4C.)

6. Some of these rights look a wee bit over-reaching. Does Vivid
have the right to use performer's name in perpetuity, without additional
payment to performer, to sell any type of sex toy or other commodity
or product? So 15 years from now, long after the performer parts ways
with Vivid, and now has a contract with XYZ Corp., Vivid still can
use the performer's stage name to market stuff? See section 4C.

7. Section 4C says that Vivid can trademark performer's stage name.
I did not see any provision for reconveying the trademark to the performer
after the agreement is terminated.

8. There is an arbitration clause in this contract. See section 12.
Why doesn't Vivid move to compel arbitration? It seems to me that
Vivid has the right to force performer to drop her lawsuit and have
this matter heard by an arbitrator. I have not studied these materials
in detail, but to me, the contract has problems from the point of
view of performer. It would be interesting to go over the agreement
in greater detail, and approach various current and former Vivid girls
and see if they really understand what they signed away, and whether
they are comfortable with it. Of course, Steve Hirsch might cross
you of his list of favorite people.

I think arbitration actually would favor Kener, rather than Vivid.
Arbitrators have very wide discretion that cannot be appealed. An
arbitrator can sometimes be a "wild card", who might not follow the
letter of the law, and might instead simply try to "do the right thing."
I think Vivid is better off in court, trying to enforce the letter
of the contract, and an "off-the-wall" decision by a federal judge
can be appealed. BTW, I had never heard of Kener. I just took a look
at Kener's web site. She's pretty good looking.

Brett emails: "Fred wonders why Vivid doesn't compel arbitration
pursuant to an arbitration clause in the contract. Two reasons why they
can't: One, the lawsuit is for more than just damages resulting from
a breach of the employment/artist's agreement, and the claims that do
not arise out of the artist agreement (website revenue damages, trademark
issues, right of publicity) would not necessarily be subject to the
arbitration clause; and Two, if Vivid wanted to compel arbitration,
it should have filed a petition upon receipt of the original complaint
or, at the latest, filed a petition to compel arbitration simultaneously
with its answer to the complaint, pursuant to California Code of Civil
Procedure section 1281.5(c)."

If you're an a$$h#le, have mental issues,loves drama and have a tiny
pecker you'll be attracted to me.The worst part to all of this is
when I come in contact with someone like this,they hold on for dear
life.I can't seem to find a way to make them go away.Trust me when
I say I'm open for suggestions.I had a situation with let's call the
person "Nutless" or better yet "Bipolar".No matter what is said or
done (including forwarding all his calls to a mental hospital) seems
to think the more he lies and bugs me the more he'll wear me down
to going back to him.Can you say "LOSER"? I guess you'd have to call
me a loser too for even going out with the guy.Bipolar seems to think
he's God's gift to women.I hate to say but God cut him short down
below.The only thing he's good at is lying.For being nutless he sure
does have some balls with some of the stories he tells.So back to
my story, Bipolar has been bugging me about wanting to help do some
hardcore video footage for my new website.Keyword would be "footage".In
his case maybe a few inches.I've never been one to cheat on a boyfriend
nor help someone cheat on their lover.I bet you know where this is
headed.Bipolar like most men in his category think they'll never get
caught up in lies because they consider themselves smoothe.Let's just
say "BUSTED".He was seeing a girl for awhile now even though he was
telling me he was still in love with me.The love part I was past.I
just needed someone for the video part.I don't date that often and
I'm not in LA. What am I suppose to do take out an ad in the paper?Well
everything just got out of control when the truth came to surface.I
know guys tend to stick to the golden rule if you're busted deny,deny,deny.That's
what he did.I finally got Anger Management out of the picture ...oops...I
meant Bipolar.Now the question is how do I find a new stunt man?

I've been looking over Kira Kenner's lawsuit against Vivid for a
while and I'm a surprised that there hasn't been much written about
it. I'm going to be giving my take on what the case is really about
and what I think it means to the adult industry. This week I am going
to focus on the allegations and what they mean and next week I will
focus on the evidence which supports and contradicts the allegations.

Any performer thinking of entering a contract really ought to pay
close attention and studios even closer. The adult industry has gotten
away with murder against its performers for too long primarily because
the talent is too young, naive and powerless to do anything about
it. The legislature and regulatory agency's are notoriously slow to
force any reforms and have nothing to gain by doing so. Perfect scenario
for the courts to get involved, no? The talent consisting of girls
barely out of high school is not exactly going to retain, well, me.

When I first looked at Kira Kenner's lawsuit against Vivid I commented
to Luke Ford that I didn't think much of it based on the damages.
I still think that's the case. According to her attorney, Kira was
making $5500 a film and she made only 45 movies from 1999 to 2004.
Vivid's attorneys acknowledge that she only made $300,000.00 over
that 5 year period. That's an average of $60,000.00 a year. Not the
type of cash to keep you flush in real estate and Louis V. purses
with little dogs. And what did Kira give up for that $60,000.00 a
year? She just signed away her life. Literally.

Keeping in mind that we are just dealing with allegations, Vivid
obtained the right to market Kira Kenner products from posters to
condoms. Vivid retained the right to terminate Kira's contract to
perform at any time. Not unusual. What is unusual is that Vivid retained
the right to sell Kira Kenner products in perpetuity, forever. Kira
would never see a penny from those products; she only gets paid for
her movies. So theoretically, Kira could have made one film, had her
contract terminated and still Vivid could market products based on
her trademark in perpetuity. Why would anyone agree to that sort of
contract? Fear of a prolapsed rectum perhaps.

Thus Kira is trying to break this contract and basically get royalties
and a share of marketing. She's trying to get from the court what
she never could have gotten in a negotiation. In order to break the
contract Kira has claimed she was retaliated against for complaints
about sanitary issues on the set.

Yeah, I know you've been patiently waiting to hear about the dildo.
Director Paul Thomas allegedly required her to perform with a previously
used "marital aid", yeah, a dildo, as well as perform with an unidentified
male performer who "looked gnarly down there." Shockingly, Kira developed
an STD, which she claims she got on the set. When she complained to
Mary Hirsch, she was fired in retaliation. Or so she claims.

This is where Kira loses me. She claims damages of $1M for lost
earnings. The first problem is that she was making $5500 a film and
made an average of 9 films a year. So it would have taken her 20 years
to make $1M. The second problem is that Kira essentially stopped working
after her termination. Thus she failed to mitigate her damages. Really
no explanation for her failure to continue working. People who have
been reading my posts on XPT know that I am highly skeptical about
the value of single girl websites.

Apparently Vivid realizes this too and was willing to share the "profits"
50-50. Do you think that after thoroughly fleecing its performers
that Vivid would be so charitable if they thought Kira-Kenner.com
was worth anything?

So what explains Kira's claim that she is owed $5M in website profits.
Well, perhaps Kira believes she is not only owed for her website,
but for her contributions to Vivids website. Sounds like marketing
royalties to me. The royalties meme seems to come up again in Kira's
claims that Vivid breached her trademark by continuing to market products
in her name after the termination of her contract. Kira claims she's
owed $10M under this claim. Its pretty clear that she signed a contract
that bargained away these rights. So she is depending on the court
to find the contract so unconscionable that it should be judicially
rewritten. There is a saying that bad facts make bad law. That means
that when courts see grossly unconscionable imbalances of negotiating
power, they tend to do things about it and they tend to go too far.

The thing that really interests me about this case is that Kira Kenner
was able to retain a heavy hitter like Marty Singer. Marty doesn't
have to win this case. He can use it to find the weak spot and get
a preview of Vivid's defense. Then he can come back with Brianna Banks
or Jenna or Tera, ect, ect, ect. Sob story after sob story until he
gets what he wants, royalties, back wages, rights regarding merchandizing.
At that point Vivid will probably be a division of JM Pictures. If
the religious right wanted to put an end to porn, they would see to
it that every performer in Porn Valley had a lawyer like Marty Singer
or David Boies. Next thing you know there would be two or three studios
left and talent would have health care, 401k's and ....who am I kidding,
the religious right could never be that smart. The courts could always
enforce the contract and leave the status quo. But with attorneys
like Marty Singer getting involved, its clear that with big money
comes big lawyers. Will Kira & Marty be porns Curt Flood and Marvin
Miller? Stay tuned. Next week we examine the evidence.